Lower Brule Sioux Tribe asks federal judge to stop BIA from seizing money

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe is asking a federal judge to stop the Bureau of Indian Affairs from seizing millions of dollars from the tribe in a dispute over accounting methods. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports the tribe filed a request for an injunction Friday (Oct. 8, 2021), saying the federal government is pushing the tribe toward insolvency. According to the filing, BIA auditors accepted the tribe’s explanation for how it was using federal payments for future expenses. But the tribe’s practices don’t comply with new BIA guidelines, prompting the agency to issue a collection order for $6.1 million. The agency has already seized more than $4 million of that.